Tiger Crossing (UK) - who uses one ?

[sheddy]

New to me.

My council are proposing building a Tiger Crossing on an existing straight road (speed limit to be reduced to 30mph) as part of a new housing scheme.
How do they work in practice, do motorists actually stop for cyclists, do some cyclists take a chance and ride across at speed ?

Presumably to be included in the new Highway Code.
Example - https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/news/2018-09-28/using-tiger-crossing-gillett-road

I'll request a Toucan, its got to be safer.

 

[Slick]

Never even heard of such a thing although it does look straight forward enough.

 

[Drago]

Looks like a toucan crossing with the cycists having their own strip to ride across.

 

[Saluki]

We have one, joining 2 bits of The Marriotts Way, at the Marlpit area. So far, so good. The car drivers all treat it as a Zebra and give Peds and Pushbikes the priority.

 

[mjr]

There are at least three by the King's Lynn Transport Interchange (aka bus station). There may be others. They work fine, if you can persuade councils to install them.

Officially, they're Parallel Crossings, introduced generally in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Tiger crossings were something slightly different, tested in Buckinghamshire and not taken forwards.

There are probably more places where cycleways are connected by zebra crossings, which is a mess of legal ambiguity. At least parallel crossings don't suffer that.

There are more places in Norfolk where cycle ways cross carriageways with the carriageway having give way signs and markings, which has the theoretical advantage that motorists must give way before you're on the crossing, but parallel/zebra crossings work better in practice in most cases IMO.

 

[T4tomo]

We have one, joining 2 bits of The Marriotts Way, at the Marlpit area. So far, so good. The car drivers all treat it as a Zebra and give Peds and Pushbikes the priority.

slight left field diversion, is the Marriotts way a decent riding surface and also the path alongside the Bure Valley railway? I'm tentatively planning a weekend away combining cycling and broads boating with a couple of not that experienced cyclists. They looked decent option for keeping them off the roads and away from traffic.

appreciate any views / advice.

 

[figbat]

A bit of information on parallel crossings here. One thing they mention is that they should be implemented in a way that makes observations of the road both ways easy for the cyclist, but already authorities are introducing badly-designed ones.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I sat near a bit of road signed as Tiger Crossing for ages and never saw one. It's a con.

 

[Saluki]

slight left field diversion, is the Marriotts way a decent riding surface and also the path alongside the Bure Valley railway? I'm tentatively planning a weekend away combining cycling and broads boating with a couple of not that experienced cyclists. They looked decent option for keeping them off the roads and away from traffic.

appreciate any views / advice.

From Norwich to the tiger crossing, it’s tarmac. From Hellesdon (tiger crossing) to Drayton it’s flat cinder, it’s just been done. From there on, you might want slightly fatter tyres than slick roadie 23mm jobbies. It’s totally doable on a roadie, more so in the summer. It’s a hard earth packed surface, but it gets very muddy in places. The Themelthorpe Loop especially.
From Aylsham to Wroxham, on the Bury Valley, packed earth, so hard but not very fast. I use all of this route often, on my gravel bike, sometimes with nobblies, sometimes with Marathon Plus.
If you are not precious about a bit of mud, it’s a good route. Up past Ashwellthorpe, it’s very muddy after the rain, around there I nip along the road if it’s really bad.

If you are looking more towards the summer, there is a lot less mud. Perfect for novice cyclists. There are a few road crossings, nothing terrifying and the main roads have crossing lights. The council are working on the surface too, to improve it.

Whitwell railway station has wonderful coffee and cake, at the start of the Themelthorpe Loop. At Aylsham, there is a Tesco and there is a good cafe at the Aylsham end of the Bure Valley - there is around 100 yard distance between Marriotts and Bure - then at Wroxham, usual assortment of McDees, pubs, cafes, ice cream.

 

[T4tomo]

Excellent, thank you @Saluki . It would be in the late spring / summer so it sounds ideal.

 

[Saluki]

Excellent, thank you @Saluki . It would be in the late spring / summer so it sounds ideal.

Parking can be a bit interesting at the Norwich end. Drop me a PM nearer the time and I will give you a postcode for non-permit parking that won’t get you a ticket for overstaying.

 

[sheddy]

Parking can be a bit interesting at the Norwich end.

BTW - is there a pretty route from Norwich Station to connect to the Marriotts Way ?

 

[mjr]

BTW - is there a pretty route from Norwich Station to connect to the Marriotts Way ?

Depends what you consider pretty! https://cycle.travel/map/journey/280505 is what I'd do. Passes the Anglican cathedral, St Andrews Hall, Playhouse and a bit of river.

By the way, I regard the deep sand of Marriott's Way outside the A1270 as unrideable on 28s in winter and no fun even on 38s in summer. Reepham Road / Norwich Road (a big back road) is usually a better way from Freeland Corner to Reepham unless you've an MTB. I also used to use Hellesdon Low Road instead of the first bit outside the tiger crossing but I've not ridden the new surface to Drayton yet.

The Bure Valley Way was rolled stone last I rode it. Rough but OK slow on 28s.

 

[T4tomo]

Parking can be a bit interesting at the Norwich end. Drop me a PM nearer the time and I will give you a postcode for non-permit parking that won’t get you a ticket for overstaying.

Thanks, will bear in mind if we end up in Norwich, but preference would be to find a a cottage /house at the Aylsham / Reepham / Wroxham side of things. Whitwell cafe noted, and we'll be on 35mm gravel tyres or MTBs (unless I decide to style it out on the single speed).

I've subsequently found most of the Marriotts is on street view, although from 2018, but it wont be any worse than what I can see.
I can catch the odd glimpse of the Bure too from where it crosses roads, that looks the rougher and narrower of the two.

 

[Alex321]

New to me.

My council are proposing building a Tiger Crossing on an existing straight road (speed limit to be reduced to 30mph) as part of a new housing scheme.
How do they work in practice, do motorists actually stop for cyclists, do some cyclists take a chance and ride across at speed ?

Presumably to be included in the new Highway Code.
Example - https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/news/2018-09-28/using-tiger-crossing-gillett-road

I'll request a Toucan, its got to be safer.

There is at least one in Cardiff Here. I've used it in the past, although usually coming out from the shared use path and turning onto the road, and my normal commute now is all along that road.

My experience is that motor traffic DOES generally give way to cyclists there, just as much as they do for pedestrians.

I didn't know it was called a Tiger Crossing.